Kirsten Schwalgien

Kirsten Schwalgien is a German yacht designer, founder of the design studio Schwalgien Yacht Design, with its headquarters in Barcelona. She is experienced in different design fields such as exterior and interior of superyachts, product design, superyacht tenders & shadow yachts. A creative force by nature, throughout every project she focuses her energy on finding tailor-made solutions, putting her creativity and expertise at work to the highest level in order to meet clients' particular needs. Customization, the accurate use of space, and refined materials are quintessential to yacht design and what inspires her permanent quest for excellence is what she calls "unconventional beauty". 

"I approach everything I do from a prism of avant-garde thinking. This allows me to create meaningful spaces that are able to unleash emotions and ultimately enrich people's lives" 

During the recent years and in particular after the launch of the 65 m shadow yacht MY Nebula she became recognised as one of the leading experts within the field of Shadow Vessel Designs. In fact her expertise reaches even to the very beginning of their era : in 2008 she designed the guest interior of the two very first first Damen shadow vessels ever built : MY Umbra & MY Oberon. Since then she has developed different shadow vessel designs for private clients - for example the 65m monohull MY "Big Shadow" - a collaboration with Damen shipyard which won in 2019 the Good Design Award/Chicago. She was also invited as a panel speaker on the subject during the Explorer Yacht Summit in Monaco. "Shadow vessels are still a rather young typology in the superyacht market. And now with a new generation of clients coming in, their advantages are for example flexibility & building time will be more attractive than ever.We are in the beginning to understand their potential. " 

In 2023 her shadow vessel design of 68m MY Nebula/Armon Shipyards won the World Superyacht Award which is internationally known as the Oscar of the super yachts. This made her the first female yacht designer (Exterior) being nominated and winning a World Superyacht Award. 

She teaches Transportation & Interior Design in Nautical Spaces at IED university Barcelona. Beyond her talent, Kirsten is well-regarded for her commitment to support the mission of the Spanish based NGO "Open Arms" founding a new division "Open Arms united with Yachting"